Permits to sell home brew ingredients online in California

[ryansanders]

Howdy. Just wondering if anyone has experience with selling home brew ingredients online from California? Just not super sure if I need to get public health involved in permitting or, since the products are perishable but not necessarily consumable, if I can just get a resellers license and be covered?

Thanks!


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[Phunhog]

I don't know the answer but I would check with a CA homebrew shop and your local environmental health agency.

 

[MindenMan]

You have two options available, one is to only sell prepackaged, preweighed, premalted grains and the like, the other will require a sanitary SS sink, and hand washing station. Beer ingredients are classified as food, just like oatmeal, etc., and if you are going to sell prepareable food, you have to meet the majority of the required standards for a restaurant.

 

[JRems]

You should not need any permits. If you have a resale certificate it should be fine. At least here all ingredients are considered food and non taxed so you should not have to collect any sales tax.

 

[ryansanders]

You should not need any permits. If you have a resale certificate it should be fine. At least here all ingredients are considered food and non taxed so you should not have to collect any sales tax.

I think probably mindenman is a bit more accurate in that, if ingredients are to be purchased in bulk and then split into smaller batches for resale, some amount of regulation will enter in to that equation, sales tax or no. Thanks for the reply though!


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[ryansanders]

You have two options available, one is to only sell prepackaged, preweighed, premalted grains and the like, the other will require a sanitary SS sink, and hand washing station. Beer ingredients are classified as food, just like oatmeal, etc., and if you are going to sell prepareable food, you have to meet the majority of the required standards for a restaurant.

This sounds like sound advice. Thanks!


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[Phunhog]

You have two options available, one is to only sell prepackaged, preweighed, premalted grains and the like, the other will require a sanitary SS sink, and hand washing station. Beer ingredients are classified as food, just like oatmeal, etc., and if you are going to sell prepareable food, you have to meet the majority of the required standards for a restaurant.

I don't know about this. There are plenty of out of state vendors who sell to CA residents. How would the authorities in CA know if someone selling homebrew supplies with nothing more than a sellers permit...if that.

And not to thread jack but what about breweries and beer? Obviously a state can regulate breweries( in regards to health permits) in its' own state but what about out of state breweries or even foreign breweries?

 

[kosmokramer]

I think this will be based on you individual city, I own a brick and mortar homebrew shop. i have 60 gamma2 airtight containers that i use for bulk grain storage and pull what ever amount of grain a customer wants for their grain bill. this is what most local shops do as well. I hold a business license and resellers permit. I heard someone the next city over is opening a shop and the city will only let them sell prepackaged grain. Some things are better left unsaid however so my advice is tell the city only what they ask.

 

[yeahfairly]

All of the wholesale brew supply businesses that I have talked to require a brick and mortar to purchase from them. Does anyone know of a wholesaler that will sale to an online only business?

 

[JRems]

Bsg will. They say they won't but they currently sell to kegerator.com which does NOT have a actual storefront and is online only.

 

[ryansanders]

Thanks for the replies guys. First steps are being taken


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[ryansanders]

Thanks for the replies guys. First steps are being taken


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